HiVE Microsatellite Constellation

Quick facts

Overview

Summary

Mission Capabilities

The identical satellites will each carry a long-wave infrared (LWIR) imager as well as a visible and near-infrared (VNIR) imager. They will observe land surface temperature to identify drought and nutrient deficiency in crops before the signs are visible on the ground.
The target customers for HiVE are large agtech and agribusiness companies, Earth Observation (EO) analytics companies, and national research entities and regulatory bodies.

Performance Specifications

The LWIR imager observes with a spatial resolution of 30 m whilst the VNIR imager observes with a resolution of 10 m. Temperature readings will be collected with an accuracy of 1.5 K.
HiVE will undergo a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 km.

Space and Hardware Components

NanaAvionics will provide two MP42 microsatellite buses for HiVE to use for the first launch. The Fraunhofer Ernst-Mach Institut (EMI) will provide an instrument control and data processing unit (DPU) for HiVE to use.
 

Overview

The High-resolution VEgetation (HiVE) microsatellite constellation is operated by the German space start-up, constellr. Additionally, it is technically supported and partially funded by ESA’s InCubed programme. By frequently monitoring the surface temperature of agricultural land, HiVE hopes to monitor the water intake and overall health of crops.

Current methods to measure transpiration include irrigation monitoring (which doesn’t provide as much information as desired), onsite measurements (which is not scalable), aerial remote sensing via drone (which is expensive at scale), and remote sensing via satellites.  The issue with current satellites in this field is that they only use standard optical or near infrared imagery. When crop stress is identified with these existing methods, typically irreversible damage has already occurred. HiVE will play a large role in preventing the deterioration of plant health. By being an early predictor of plant health, HiVE will reduce the risk of crop loss, allow better use of scarce resources, and improve yield forecasting capabilities.

There are three main groups that HiVEs services will target: large agtech and agribusiness companies, Earth Observation (EO) analytics companies, and national research entities and regulatory bodies. Agtech and agribusiness companies require reliable information to predict crop yields and bring confidence to the production chain. EO data analytics companies need cost-efficient and quality data. Research entities and regulatory bodies need a service with wide monitoring capabilities.

Spacecraft

Each HiVE satellite will be equipped with an LWIR imager and VNIR imager. These cryogenically cooled imagers have been developed by the German satellite company, OHB (Otto Hydraulic Bremen) System AG. The Fraunhofer Ernst-Mach Institut (EMI) is providing the DPU which will perform data processing onboard such as image correction, data compression, and encryption. The payloads will be housed in an MP42 microsatellite bus developed by the Lithuanian satellite bus manufacturer, NanoAvionics.

Launch

The German company Exolaunch will be managing the launch of the first HiVE satellites.

HiVE will undergo a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 km.

Mission Status

• March 3, 2023: Exolaunch signed a multi-launch agreement with constellr to deploy their HiVE microsatellite constellation.
• November 21, 2022: An event was held at ESA’s ESRIN facility in Italy around the contract signing between constellr and ESA. The contract was for constellr to design, develop, and customer-validate HiVE with ESA InCubed technical and financial assistance. With constellr being a German-based company, the German National Delegation to ESA was also represented at the meeting.
• February 2022: A long-wave infrared camera was launched to the International Space Station as part of constellr’s Long-wave Infrared Sensing Demonstrator mission. This mission will serve as a means to test the infrared camera for constellr’s future HiVE mission.

Sensor Complement

The LWIR imager observes with a spatial resolution of 30 m whilst the VNIR imager observes with a resolution of 10 m. Leaf temperature readings indicating transpiration changes will be collected with an accuracy of 1.5 K.

Constellr’s LWIR imager uses unique designs in cryocooling devices, high-performance thermal systems, and optics to miniaturise traditional LWIR imager payloads. This makes the imager far more suitable for the agile microsatellite platform.

The LWIR imager has previously been demonstrated aboard the International Space Station as part of the 2022 Longwave Infrared Sensing Demonstrator mission.

Ground Segment

ESA’s data distribution will distribute the data to the global customer base.

References  

1) Conference on Characterization and Radiometric Calibration for Remote Sensing. (2022). In Data, Calibration and Processing of Thermal Infrared Data from the LisR ISS Mission. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/calcon/CALCON2022/All2022Content/22/

2) constellr and Exolaunch Sign Multi-Launch Agreement. (2023, March 3) LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/constellr-exolaunch-sign-multi-launch-agreement-constellr/

3) constellr pushes buildup of its HiVE Constellation. Astrodrom. (2022, December 15). https://astrodrom.com/en/spacenews/constellr-signs-contracts-to-build-its-hive-constellation/

4) HiVE microsatellite constellation to provide early crop-health monitoring. InCubed. (2022, November 21). https://incubed.esa.int/hive-microsatellite-constellation-to-provide-early-crop-health-monitoring/

5) Measuring water, temperature & carbon from space for Better Resource Accountability. constellr. (n.d.). https://constellr.com/

6) High-resolution VEgetation monitoring to enable “more crop per drop” with MicroSatellites. ESA. (2022, November). https://incubed.esa.int/portfolio/hive/